FM 2009 - AJAX - The Home of technical brilliance

Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax also referred to as AFC Ajax, or simply Ajax is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands. The club is historically one of the three clubs that dominate the Dutch national football league (Eredivisie), the other two being Feyenoord and PSV.

Ajax is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup; they won consecutively in 1971-1973. In 1972, they completed The Treble by winning the Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup; to date they are the only team to keep the European Cup and accomplish the European Treble , also AFC Ajax are one of the only two teams (with Manchester United in 1999) to win the The Treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calender year, this was achieved in the legendary 1971/72 season. They are also one of only three clubs (with Juventus and Bayern Munich) to have won all three major European trophies at least once (the European Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup). They were the first team to win what has become the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Ajax has also won the Intercontinental Cup twice.

Honours:

Official trophies (recognized by UEFA and FIFA)

National

Eredivisie: 29

1917-18, 1918-19, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1933-34, 1936-37, 1938-39, 1946-47, 1956-57, 1959-60, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1969-70, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1984-85, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04

KNVB Cup: 17

1917, 1943, 1961, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007

KNVB Cup runner-up: 5

1900, 1968, 1978, 1980, 1981

Johan Cruijff Shield: 7

1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007

Johan Cruijff Shield runners-up: 4

1996, 1998, 1999, 2004

Youth program:

The club is also particularly famous for its renowned youth program that has produced many Dutch talents over the years - Johan Cruyff being the best example, Edwin van der Sar, Dennis Bergkamp and Euro 88-winning player and current senior team coach Marco van Basten. Recent Dutch starlets Ryan Babel, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and John Heitinga had also came through the ranks at Ajax and all are now playing for top-flight clubs. Ajax has also expanded its talent searching program to South Africa with Ajax Cape Town. Ajax also had a satellite club in the United States under the name Ajax America, this club filled for bankruptcy. There are some youth players from Ajax Cape Town that have been drafted into the Eredivisie squad, such as Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena. In 1995, the year that they won the Champions League, the Dutch national team was almost entirely composed of Ajax players, with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, players such as Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer and Danny Blind in defense, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in midfield, and Patrick Kluivert and Marc Overmars in attack. The team was coached by Louis van Gaal, and also featured foreign stars such as Jari Litmanen, Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George. Its current successes are mostly domestic, notwithstanding some minor successes in the 2002-03 Champions League.

Current squad:

1 GK Maarten Stekelenburg (Vice-Captain)

2 DF Bruno Silva

3 DF Oleguer Presas

4 DF Thomas Vermaelen

5 DF Jan Vertonghen

6 MF Rasmus Lindgren

7 FW Kennedy Bakircioglü

8 MF Urby Emanuelson

9 FW Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Captain)

10 FW Miralem Sulejmani

11 MF Ismaïl Aissati

12 GK Kenneth Vermeer

15 DF Gregory van der Wiel

16 FW Luis Suárez

18 MF Gabri

19 FW Dennis Rommedahl

20 FW Darío Cvitanich

21 MF Eyong Enoh

22 MF Siem de Jong

23 FW Leonardo Santiago

24 MF Jan-Arie van der Heijden

25 MF Evander Sno

26 MF Jeffrey Sarpong

27 MF Laurent Delorge

28 DF Vurnon Anita

29 MF Mitchell Donald

30 GK Dennis Gentenaar

31 GK Hans Vonk

33 FW Javier Martina

37 DF Robbert Schilder

---

I will post a guide to all those interested in Ajax in the coming days. This will include potential transfers, formations/systems and changes i feel would suit them.

Im just starting my first game with them now, mainly to create a tactic and get used to the match engine on this game. I'll be playing a 4-3-3, with attacking full backs, a defensive playmaker, and two box to box players. This was my most successful tactic on FM08, so im looking to recreate this.

Looking at the players, the first thing i notice is that the defence has got worse. Emanuelson is no longer a god and Ogararu is out on loan, so both full backs are quite weak. Theres also no one with great aerial ability at the heart of defence, so that is something to address. Midfield is ok. Theres some people who can pass it, some who can tackle, and theres backup in that area. Up front has some good quality, but no depth. The wings are a little slow, and if Huntelaar gets injured, i cant see who could be a regular goalscorer.

My priorities in the transfer market will be a physical DC, and a pacey AMR. With only a small budget, i may have to look at a loan or two if possible. Rommedahl, Gentenaar, Cvitanic, Sno and Manucharyan have been sent to the reserves and put on the transfer list as theyre just not good enough, with Vermeer and Donald being promoted to the first team.

My first team squad at the start is as follows:

GK: Stekelenberg

DR: Silva

DC: Oleguer

DC: Vermaelen

DL: Emanuelson

MC: Gabri

MC: Lindgren

MC: Enoh

AMR: Bakircioglu

AML: Sulejmani

ST: Huntelaar

I'm playing as Ajax too. Good thing to do at the beggining is to offer Gentenar to clubs, you can get up to 8.5m for him from Man City. Thats what i did so i had 11m for transfers!

Cereal_Dave try Davide Santon from Inter, he's 17 and he can play from DR to AMR. Got him for 2.2m + % of next sale clausule (otherwise they didnt want to sell him). You can try to loan him too, he'll come for free.

My other transfers:

Fausto Rossi from Juve for 1.7m

Celso Borges for 400k

Jonathan Cristaldo for 425k

Mauricio for free

loaned out Manucharyan to Willem II for 500k

Now i'll look for some DC. Matts Hummels from Bayern looks good, unfortunately hes on loan now :/.

I'm still tryin to find a good tactic. My squad for now:

GK: Stekelenburg

DR: Silva/Santon

DC: Oleguer

DC: Vermaelen

DL: Goossens/Emanuelson

MC: Lindgren/Gabri

MC: Enoh

AMC: Borges/Aissati

AMR: Suarez/Stanton/Bakircioglu

AML: Aissati/Suarez/Rossi

ST: Huntelaar

As always I started the new FM game managing Ajax. I thought the defence was pretty weak as well, but I do still think Emanuelson can act as my DL. The problem was DR position and the central defenders. Asked the board for more transfer budget so I could improve the defence. The board increased transfer budget from 3 to 11 million euros.

Players In:

Mamadou Sakho 9 million

Nelson Rivas 2.7 million

Players Out:

Gabri 4 million

Kennedy bakircioglu 6 million

Only problem with my money that came in from the transfer is that it will be paid as monthly installments for 24 months.

Now I'm still looking for another forward and an Amr. If there are people with suggestions I'd be glad to hear them. I'm currently trying to buy keirrison from Cortiba, but unsure that my budget will allow it.

Formation is 4-4-2:

GK: Maarten Stekelenburg

DL: Urby Emanuelson

DC: Mamadou Sakho

DC: Thomas Vermaelen

DR: Gregory van der Wiel (Nelson Rivas will be his replacement as soon as he's fit)

MC: Eyong Enoh (Defensive)

MC: Ismail Aisatti

AML: Miralem Sulejmani

AMR: Luis Suarez

FC: Klaas Jan Huntelaar

FC: Dario Cvitanitch

Currently four games into the season, having won them all, still placed second though on goal difference.

i find there r a lot of players r right feet and nature positions r on left side such Suarez, Goossens, R. Schilder, those are really annoying. Cvitanitch and Sulejmani are really not that good, thinking of selling them after first season.

Being a hardcore Ajax fan myself i've started the game managing AFC Ajax.

I must say that i'm somewhat disappointed, a lot of players don't feel right stat wise to me. Especially Sulejmani, supposed to be one of the biggest talents around and his best stats are 16-16 in respectively pace and acceleration.

Suarez arguably the best player in the Eredivisie at the moment, his stats don't do him right at all.

However i'll stick by my beloved team and strive for Glory!

By the way Giovinco from Juventus is interested in joining well worth picking up if you manage to get the transfer budget!

Hello All, I just started a game with Ajax. I bought altidore and loaned him to levante. I bought Santon form Inter as backup DR. Borges I bought him to play on the midfield.

I now have to play the first league game of the season, against our big rival Feyenoord (kakkerlakken).

I've started with Ajax too.

Kenneth Vermeer has gone out on loan to Middlesborough but I have brought in Emerson on loan from Milan as a DMC, Martin Cacares from Barcelona as a DC and bought Julio Cruz from Inter for about 600k, and Belletti on loan from chelsea.

Still not sure on a formation, I'm playing the 433 that was already in place for Ajax, but only seem to be able to sneak 1-0 wins, assistant feedback says that we are shooting a lot from long range, is there a way to make the players pass in to Huntelaar a lot more?

I think i've made the squad really strong but they are just not performing. Any ideas?

Hi, I also started at Ajax. What I found out is that the squad becomes really good in the coming months! Above reactions are a little early. Aisatti, Sulejmani, Vermeer, Suarez, Cvitanich, Enoh, Claassen, Ricardo van Rhyn, Van Der Wiel and my favorite Goossens are really up with stats quick! they need some match time and training. There potential is great! I knew from my Ajax knowledge they convert Goossens from a AML to a LWB. His stats shoot up really fast.

I see no point in buying players to be honest. The squad has enough depth and because only playing the second highest European cup and national teams are not that competitive (Groningen, AZ, Feyenoord, PSV, NAC) there is an easy way of winning them.

I use a 4-3-3 with freerole AML/AMR (Asaitti/sulejmani-AML) (Kennedy Bakirciuoglu, Suarez-AMR) they perform really well!. Huntelaar was a bigger prob. Loads of club interested but no bids (low spirit) and needed to tweak a lot to get him scoring well.

The Midfield 3 (2 MC-AMC-1 CM/DM-centre) worked really well. Verthongen/Lindgren/Gabri/Siem de Jong/ , all to a man marking/thight and less creativity (supporters for the forwards) they all have good passing and mental skill.

The back 4 was easy for the LWB/RWB positions and at least one CB is clear (vermaelen) Oleguer is good but not the best.

So, with less money to spend I had to figure out an easy solution a CB with RWB capacity so I just looked at the east of Holland and signed Wieleart who is great! fast and good technical stats and cheap to buy.

I almost won all my games untill the winter and ended first in january 7 points clear. Vermeer (injury Stekelenburg) played a lot of games at the start and did extremely well with only 9 goals against. A lot of big named teams want him (inter, Juventus, alt. Madrid)

But I kept him there.

The big thing I concentrated on was getting rid of a most of my staff who were not good enough. Especially the youth trainers and Scouting staff. Also to cut down cost I got rid of a lot of under 19 players and second team player (releasing).

I signed some scout recommendations: (fausto Rossi, Mehmet Ekici, Mascio (cisco) and Sasha Shumacher 16years (german regen/ fast to 14) and Donavon as a free tranfser (1th december, I will put a screen of him. Great buy!

Well I'm off to win the championship and also earn a lot of money (no big buys and still in the Uefa cup, national cup.

Enjoy this team! A lot of Potential!!!

Hello everyone,

The first thing in my era at Ajax was to take a look at the team. I didn’t follow my assistant manager advices regarding to players’ ability. I try to judge them myself. In order to have a close look at my players I arranged some friendly matches so I could see them playing. I’m playing 4-4-2 because I used to play this formation and I’m satisfied with it. Ajax has the talents to be able to play in this formation so it is an obvious choice to me.

My goalkeepers are good but not excellent so I have to improve this part of my team later. Stekelenburg is a quality player even if he is not a world class keeper. My faith is in him, at least during the first season. My second choice goalkeeper is Kenneth Vermeer who is a talented youngster. I give him first team duties regularly and he takes his chances. The time right now is the end of October and he has 3 appearances with the first team and he had 2 clean sheets with several quality saves. Gentenaar is a little bit odd to me so he is my third goalkeeper. I can’t tell you why this is just a feeling.

Next area of my team to judge is the defensive line. Things started to get harder and harder. Thomas Vermaelen is a young and talented DC and I give him the chance to prove himself with the first team. 9 games so far and he has 240/292 passes, 26/27 tackles and 96/82 header. He plays in the middle and I think he is rock solid. His partner is Mamadou Sakho. I cannot write anything new about him because he is a well-known stopper in the game. He is even better with passes than Vermaelen but he is young, very young, he can improve his game. I bought him 7,5 million euro and everyone is pleased with his form, he was a good signing so far.

Ajax trained many good youngsters and one of them is Gregory van der Wiel. He has good stats and he is the player who agrees to learn a preferred move.  I asked him to stay on feet while tackling and he approved my advice. So far he is the only one. Jan Vertonghen is another possibility in the middle of the defensive line and he is a good cover for me. Rasmus Lindgren and Oleguer can play as a DC but they are not so effective so I just used them when it was inevitable.

Left and right backs… well, Ajax has a good cover on the left side as Emanuelson can play on a higher level than the average players in the Eredivisie. His cover could be Sakho or Vermaelen. John Goosens can be a cover also but he is still young and improving, we will see.

On the right side the first choice of my team is Bruno Silva who is quick and stable and support attacks regularly. His first back is Oleguer but he is not so good on the physical aspects of the game. Laurent Delorge can be an effective cover after retraining to be a skillful right back. At least it is worth a try.

Let’s see the midfield. Start with the left side I found that there is no real left winger in the squad. I have players who can be left wingers and can play well but none of them is am outstanding left winger. It is not a big deal with my 4-4-2 because they play in the AM L position only when we attack. Basically, most of the time we attack  Ismail Aissatti and Miralem Sulejmani are great attacking midfielders and Sulejmani even can be a goal scorer, too. Aisatti is solid on the left wing so I’m not worrying too much about that position. To be honest I would be pleased if I could buy Guardado for that position  Emanuelson can play in this role also so in case of an injury he can jump in and give assists.

On the right side I use Luis Suarez because he played well during the friendlies at the beginning of the new season and so far he is solid. He has some good performances. I used him because Kennedy Bakircioglu was injured but he will return soon. I think Kennedy will be my first choice for the right side. Laurent Delorge can play well in this position also and I gave him a chance. He was effective and quick, so can be a good cover, too.

In the middle I have some average players like Lindgren, and Anita Vurnon. I use Eyong Enoh as a first team player and I am satisfied with his performances. He is rock solid and support every attacks. He plays as a midfielder with attacking duties. Evander Sno is the midfielder who support the defensive line. He is working well and effectively. I signed a big name for the team, Stephen Appiah. I know, many of you guys wuld never give him a chance again but I believe that he can produce a high level football again. I’m looking forward his first game which will start as soon as I finish this post  My idea is that Appiah will be a cover for the midfield if my youngsters need to take a rest. Siem de Jong and Rodney Sneijder are bright talents for Holland. Both of them are developing fast and can play a decisive role in the future Ajax. I won’t sell them.

Our attack is another question. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Is there anyone who has no idea about the potential of this player. I don’t think so. He is my first forward and he can score a goal in every game. His support is a young Russian guy named Fedor Smolov. He is quick, agile and has a lethal finishing ability. He is only 17 so I use him carefully but he can live up to the hype. He is not strong enough so I cannot use him as a target man now but he is quite tall and he will be strong 

Edgar Manucharyan is another choice in the Ajax squad but he isn’t performing well. This is just my opinion and experience. Dario Cvitanich and Sulejmani can play as a forward or striker so I think we have a good attacking force on hand.

My approach to every team, especially when I manage Ajax is to give the chance to the youngsters. I have no problem to use a young DC while we are fighting against PSV. If he is ready he can step in. Gregory van der Wiel’s first game as a substitutes was a miracle. I played against Partizan Beograd away and my left back injured in the 75 minutes. I sent Sakho to the left side from the middle and sent van der Wiel to Sakho’s position. By the end of the game he ran 1.4 km and scored a goal! We can call this an impressive debut.

I looked for bright talents from the beginning. I signed couple of them and I will send them on the pitch as soon as they are ready. My signings in the first season are the following:

- Sakho from PSG 7,5 million euro

- Fedor Smolov from Dinamo Moscow for 900,000 euro

- Stephen Appiah as a free transfer

I have some youngsters from all over the world who will join to Ajax in the future.

- Christian Eriksen from OB

- Even Hovland from Songland

- Tawrick Jibril from Hearts of Oak

- Adem Ljajic from Partizan

- Ezequiel Munoz from Boca Juniors

- Ransford Osei from Kessben

- Rafael Toloi from Goias

I sold Rommedahl to Hoffenheim for 6.5 million euro! Gabri is on a loan with an agreed price. This amount of money helped me to get fund for getting new players.

I am sure that some of these guys will not be able to pick even one first team slot but I will the chance for them. My Ajax will continue its tradition and will become the most known club in the world. Our youth system will produce the best talents all over the world.

I hope that my short writing will help some of you guys to make decisions at the beginning but I am sure that everyone of us has their own idea about managing our beloved club, AFC Ajax. Go for the pride!

Hello again!

Just some additional information about Stephen Appiah. He played 8 league games with my Ajax squad and his stats are the following. 2 goals, 7,38 tackles per game, 84% passing and the average rating is 7,32.

I think he is a real bargain for the defensive midfielder or midfielder role. My board is delighted with him but the most important thing is that I am satisfied with his effort. I can recommend you to sign him for Ajax, you won't be disappointed.

Hello everyone

iam AC milan and i need a striker who can score goals for fun, iam thinking about buying huntelaar and i was wondering if anyone could tell me how good he is and if he prefers playing upfront by himself or with a partner?

Thanks

Well actually he can do both, and he is really good imo.

Huntelaar is one of the bests in the game and in the real life, too. Buy him and you will see some high-end stuff from that lad. Amazing tricks and nice shots in the game. He scored me 17 goals from 18 games. To be honest, I won't sell him whatever is the price. I will keep him in the squad so I need some tricks with man management. He can play with a partner well and his passing is good to deliver some assists. If you buy him you will need at least one class winger to deliver crossing to his head and he will score a bunch of headers.

i have just bought him for 15m, i have got ronaldinho,kaka,van der vaart and pato and ive also got diego capel and ashley young on the way to try along side him so he should get me goals. i will keep you informed..

Finally, the first season has ended five minutes ago. Ajax did the treble! This season was a hard and difficult area for the club but by the end of it we have great success in every competititon.

The board expectation of the second knock-out round of the UEFA CUP is not so high but it was difficult to get over it. The road to the final went trough against Racing, Schalke, Partizan and Sampdoria during group stage and after Rennes, Man City, Everton and Dinamo Kiev. In the final we met with AC Milan. I thought that we will be defeated because of the sheer difference BUT Milan had a bad season. Finishing 8th place and full with injured players.The match has started and Ronaldinho showed some glimpses of his ability but I have a secret gun... the name is Rafael....van de Vaart. I signed him during the winter transfer market because he was transfer listed at Madrid. I payed 7,75 million euro and that money went to the right place. He had an amazing half season with 14 goals, 6 assists and 7 MOM during 19!! games. He won couple games like the UEFA CUP final with 2 goals.

Ambrosini was sent off and we controlled the whole game. Frank Rijkaard sent Nesta to the midfield and Antonini to the right flank of the midfield so that was a real mess for AC Milan.

I feel sorry but football never easy.

My signings were at least good or even superb. My best signing was Appiah who became a key member of the team and scored important goals and executed really hard work in the middle of the park.

Huntelaar had a good season with 18 goals and he became a motivated player by the end of the season. He scored 13 goals in the UEFA CUP and had a couple MOM award, too.

One thing is notable that the language barrier could prove a stunning block for even hihg-class players. I need to build a language school and hire some good loooking missus to teach these lads Dutch. The Frenchman, Sakho picked up basic Dutch by the end of the season! Some of the guys need just like 3 or 4 months to get that level. Smolov from Russia can speak... nothing in Dutch. He always has problems on the field but that doesn't mean he can't score. He did 10 goals and some assists.

I am looking for the new season with a new contract from the board and start to build my squad for the Champions League.

At the moment I have just started my 4th season with ajax. The third season was a major succes with ajax winning the Eredivisie, the dutch cup and the Champions league. The Champions league final was one of the most exciting games I ever witnessed. I played Newcastle who had been taken over and thus had spent almost 300 million euro's on transfers in the last 2 seasons. Newcastle took a quick lead in this game by Michael Owen 8th minute goal. After that they started to control the game and probably began to tackle harder. This led to numerous injuries on my side for whom I didn't have proper replacements. My team continued to play badly the whole game, so I was suprised that I managed to equalise in the 84th minute. Huntelaar was once again the striker I wanted him to be and positioned himself great to nod in an easy header. Due to the many injuries during the second half 8th minutes of injury time were announced. But in the 5th minute of injury time my team suffered another injury, but I had used my 3 substitutes already. So I started to play a bit more defensive with the hope of surviving for penalties. That did not happen. In the 99th minute my defence intercepted the ball and played it deep to Huntelaar. He didn't stop running until he had put the ball past Given and was congratulated by his teammates.

Great match this was:

My current squad:

Which dutch staff do people use and sign for Ajax?

Do you get much money with Ajax on FM08 they were loaded with a great bank balance and transfer budget, dont seem to have that much on this game for transfers. Do you get much as the seasons go on?

I think at the first season you have a max of 3m euro to spend. But if you do a request they will at until 9/12m in the winter you can ask again for some cash and they will give you around 8m.

The reason your not getting a lot is the buy of Sulejmani )16m euro.

Which dutch staff do people use and sign for Ajax?

I signed Bergkamp.. just because he is a legend for Ajax

My assistant manager is Ezio Sella and the coaches are the following: Didi Vathauer, Fausto Salsano, Luc Rabat, David Endt, Sebastian Emonts, Jefta Bresser, Steve Brown, Paul Hoogers as a GK coach and Adrian Lamb as a Fitness coach.

The original staff is not good enough for my ambition.

Firstly i seem to have managed to get far more money than most, through a little persuasion and adjustment i managed to get myself £23m

So i brought in:

Mirel Radoi- Steaua- Strengthen the defense and hes been awesome although i did have to spend £10m to get him

Marcelo-Madrid- On the transfer list, shores up the defence and provides width going forward

Demy De Zeeuw- AZ- He's immense i always sign him, and at £6.5m he is an amazing buy for DM

Javi Garcia- Madrid- Also transfer listed cost me £3m.. playmaker in my midfield and has been quality for me.

I didnt really get rid of anyone, as i dont know much about the players i thought i'd give them a chance to impress me.

I decided to play a 4-5-1/ 4-3-3.

GK: Stekelenberg

RB: Oleguar

LB: Marcelo

CB: Radoi

CB: Lindgren

DM: De Zeeuw

CM: Gabri

CM: Javi Garcia

AML: Sulejmani

AMR: Bakircioglu

ST: Huuntelaar

In January, im top off the league, through to the UEFA Cup knock out stages and into the fifth round of the national cup.

Just on the verge of signing either Cardozo or Pogrebynak to play upfront with Huuntelaar, or alone should i lose him.

Any ?s

cazz_1105, why don`t you use Suarez? Isn`t he that good?

BTW, I`m a big Ajax fan and will start a new game with them.

[HUN]Fmprof, what kind of 4-4-2 formation do you use? The standard attacking, defending or diamond version? Maybe you can post a pic?

Well as i said, i dont reall know much about Ajax other than the big names. So when he got injured at the beginning of my game, i just played Sulejmani there, and in his first season he got like 10 goals and 15 assists in 35 games, so there was no need for him. I've heard hes nowhere near the level on FM in comparison to reality.

Anyway i won the league

I signed Oscar Cardozo in January and he scored 11 in 14 for me, Huuntelarr finished the season havin played 30 scored 25 in the league.

During the summer i signed Antonio Valencia and Grettar Steinsson, i also got Ivica Olic on a free transfer.

Hi Guys,

So I am starting my first game with Ajax in FM09 ...have just finsihed a wonderful run with them in FM08 ..where after the 3rd season we made it to the top of Europe once again.

My main concern is that I had great success with some players and a tactic (from marz in the tactics section) that worked together ideally ...I loved the way some of the players developed in FM08 ( had great success with Kennedy-Suarez-Schilder-Sno-Emanuelson-Vertoghen -Vermaelen-and of course Aissati) BUT from what i have read some may be a bit watered down ....damn!!!

Would appreciate some initial insight ..on what to expect ..who to keep an eye out to unload ..loan out etc....read about some players like Gentenaar -and its these tips that I would like to have.

I like to make the whole Ajax system work ...So I dont want to get in there and sign top rated players ..I want the reserves to work properly and try to bring them into the squad ..So I try to sign gems (would prefer them to be Dutch) and eventually get them in teh 1st team.

Loved what I read from both LUKEDAVID & (HUN)FMPROF ---and would appreciate some more advice along those lines .... For instance would like to know if I should expect any players to be poached ..so I can start keeping the gems tracked ...example in FM08 ..it was obvious that Huntelaar would be tracked ...ended up selling to MANCITY for Eur 35 million ... had Fischer(German lad) in reserves ready and brought in Gignac as striker ...and Torosidis as a versatile player and banked the rest ...using it to bring in quality young players mostly dutch ...which eventually led me in winning the Champions league ...Oh Yes ..had some help from both van der Vaart & wijnaldum ( who I picked up with the funds from Huntellar).

So that is it ..would really appreciate your thoughts ..I dont expect to win everything in year one ..But I believe we can give PSV ..more than a run ..and also send a message in Europe for greater things to follow.

Will be looking to offload --Gentenaar-Delorge -Cvitanich and possibly Rommedahl (almost in the 1st or 2nd transfer windows) ..would like your thoughts here ...and also whay to do with Gabri (In Fm08) he really did quality work ..even though initially I wanted to offload ..So I was thoroughly surprised.

Cheers guys --and really looking forward to your thoughts

Thanks for the insight to date

I'm also playing my first season with Ajax in FM 09. I think my mentality is similar to Alexander999's. I try to find young talents from my own squad.

In the first season, I didn't buy anybody, though my assman complained that I should invest to goalkeeper (why, I have Dutch NT level GK in Stekelenburg). But in November with Vermaelen and Emanuelson injured, I have to admit that my defence is soon to face problems, especially in DR position (of course, if things turn bad I can even play Gabri there).

Nevertheless, midfield and attack is full of very young, very talented players (Vertonghen, Anita, Enoh, Aissati, Sulejmani, Suarez, Sarpong etc.) so I'll see no problems there in near future.

My team so far:

GK: Stekelenburg; Gentenaar (backup, gets regular time in Ajax 2)

DL: Emanuelson; Shilder (I try to teach him DC position as he was great in FM 08 and he has 15 heading as well in FM 09)

DC: Vermaelen; van der Wiel

DC: Oleguer

DR: Bruno Silva

DMC: Vertonghen; Anita; Sno

MC: Lindgren; Enoh; de Jong

MC: Gabri; Claasen

AML: Sulejmani; Aissati; Sarpong, Goossens

AMR: Suarez; Bakircioglü; Donald

ST: Huntelaar; Cvitanich; Manucharyan

To be offloaded:

Rommedahl: Sold him to Hoffenheim for £2,8m

Luque: (went to Malaga with long term loan + £2,6m buyout clause)

Vonk: is in Ajax 2 but his contract will run up in dec 2008 and will be released

Leonardo: will go in January transfer window, mainly because I've got enough quality in AML position and his teamwork and although his technically gifted, his work rate stats are too low to be part of my team. PSV is already interested in him).

Verhoeff: considering Vermeer's potential and Stekelenburg's age, he's not gonna make it to first team anyway

Javier Martina: can't compete to ML position with much better players

Loaned out:

Kenneth Vermeer to Manchester City. Gets regular games in cup series and reserves and performing well

Stanton Lewis to Den Bosch (also performing and scoring well)

Slingard to Sparta (was already loaned when game starts; should bring him back to cover my defence)

Who do I miss from FM 08

1) John Heitinga

2) Hedwiges Maduro (was my best CD for 7 seasons)

3) Rydell Poepon (first team AMC player in my 4-2-3-1 formation, doesn't seem to be even a half of the player in FM09 )

4) Nicolae Mitea (my best AML in previous version, always managed to cross... unfortunately he's out of team, but his attributes are not bad to be honest)

Ironic part is that one of my rare transfers in FM 08 Ajax game I did buy Sulejmani to Ajax. Way before he was transferred IRL. I paid £3,3m to Heerenveen, but he could play for Ajax just one season and was sold for £8,5m (board accepted transfer).

So far I'm in November 1st and currently in 5th position (15 points) after losing points due to adapting FM 09 tactics in the beginning of the season. But 4 teams in front are all with 17 points, so I'm fairly in range to catch them.

Sorry guys for my complete lack of activity in this thread. Unacceptable due to my starting it. I've struggled somewhat with FM09 but i'm here to help any of you guys out

I've started with Ajax too.

Kenneth Vermeer has gone out on loan to Middlesborough but I have brought in Emerson on loan from Milan as a DMC, Martin Cacares from Barcelona as a DC and bought Julio Cruz from Inter for about 600k, and Belletti on loan from chelsea.

Still not sure on a formation, I'm playing the 433 that was already in place for Ajax, but only seem to be able to sneak 1-0 wins, assistant feedback says that we are shooting a lot from long range, is there a way to make the players pass in to Huntelaar a lot more?

I think i've made the squad really strong but they are just not performing. Any ideas?

I'm playing the same system. My tactics:

GK: distribute ball to defenders (Emanuelson)

DL/DR: mentality 11-12, forward runs often, run with ball often (depending on technical skills), cross often (mixed), creative freedom 12, passing mixed

DC: mentality 8, passing short

DMC (Vertonghen): mentality 8, FR often, hold up ball, passing short-mixed

MCL (Lindgren): mentality 8-12 (depending on wether I'm losing or ahead), passing direct-mixed

MCR (Gabri): mentality 12, run with ball, passing short-mixed, long shots often

AML/AMR: mentality and creative freedom 14-15, run with ball often, cross often (byline), long shots depending on skills, through balls often

ST (Huntelaar): mentality and creative freedon 15-16, run with ball often, long shots often, through balls often, hold up ball, target man (!), distribution mixed, passing direct

If you're behind or need a goal, replace Lindgren with Aissati or Sarpong and give him more attacking approach + run with ball orders to stretch opposition defence. Move Vertonghen up a bit (mentality 10).

Team orders: width 14, tempo 14, defensive line 13 (move back when leading or struggling with fast opp. strikers; move up when need to attack).

So far I've been going on nice unbeatable run in the leagu, although lately had some disappointing draws (0-0 at home against Volendam, though I dominated hard and 1-1 against Sparta Prague in UEFA Cup). Huntelaar has scored 3 goals in Eredivisie so far and Sulejmani is unstoppable on the left flank (3 MoM awards in league games)

Fair points Draakon, however a few things i would change.

Firstly: You could get away with pushing your DC's up a little more. Try their mentality at 9 ish (All depends on the pace of them)

Secondly: I would alter your DMC mentality to atleast 10. Its a mistake to have your DC and DMC on the same mentality. Both will overlap with each other and you will find that the DMC becomes distant from play (Not ideal as the DMC is the 'playmaker' in the Ajax system). Also try changing Vertonghen's passing to around 10-12 ish. He is a decent passer of the ball and so should be at relative ease at spreading the ball around the pitch.

Draakon: Who do you play as your AMR/AML?

I seem to have finally found a tactic that works on FM09, i have won the Eredivisie for my first three seasons, last season managing to accumulate 86points, going on a 27 match unbeaten run, and winning 18 in a row(i think).

My squad is very strong though, and this may be one of the reasons for my success and not the tactics.

I'm sure you won't recognise most of them as they are regens but there are a few big names there.

My best players are probably regens as well.

Igor Sikircic- GK

Richard Allen- DC

You will probably be astouded by the goalscoring record of Huntelaar who i have somehow managed to hold onto.

PLayed 257- Scored 202

Under my management- played 84- scored 72, this is only his league goals record, so im sure he has scored over 300 career goals.

Fair points Draakon, however a few things i would change.

Firstly: You could get away with pushing your DC's up a little more. Try their mentality at 9 ish (All depends on the pace of them)

Secondly: I would alter your DMC mentality to atleast 10. Its a mistake to have your DC and DMC on the same mentality. Both will overlap with each other and you will find that the DMC becomes distant from play (Not ideal as the DMC is the 'playmaker' in the Ajax system). Also try changing Vertonghen's passing to around 10-12 ish. He is a decent passer of the ball and so should be at relative ease at spreading the ball around the pitch.

Draakon: Who do you play as your AMR/AML?

I usually change DMC role depending on whether I'm protecting my lead or trying to score. Same to DC-s.

Usually my front line is (from left to right): Sulejmani-Huntelaar-Suarez, but Bakircioglü gets fair share of playing time as AMR too. He's good at corners and free kicks and that has given me some crucial goals. Aissati/Sarpong are subbing Sulejmani, if needed.

Aissati doesn't start for you then?

Aissati doesn't start for you then?

Not in the first season, at least so far. At AML position Sulejmani is far better at the moment. At MCL position Lindgren or Enoh are more safe picks because otherwise my formation would go perhaps too attacking. But Aissati is definitely pick as MCL against much weaker teams that I should beat easily. Or comes in regularly off the bench.

I need a replacement for Huntelaar, in the new patch, he's off to Madrid, so who can replace him, i've got 16 million to spend.

I need a replacement for Huntelaar, in the new patch, he's off to Madrid, so who can replace him, i've got 16 million to spend.

Oscar Cardozo from Benfica or Uche from Getafe.

artem milevskyi is a better all-round option, cardozo is 'only' a tm and uche only pace, etc.

thanks guys, i'll check them out, n hopefully one of them is the replacement. cheers

artem milevskyi is a better all-round option, cardozo is 'only' a tm and uche only pace, etc.

And with 17m he could get both, meaning a TM and pacey striker partnership, which is perfect.

Can anyone recommend me the best formation for Ajax? screenies will be helpful, thanks.

I started a game with Ajax on fm08 and had loads of fun, winning the League, Uefa and Dutch cup on a season, before i was offered a contract by Inter hwich i took.

So i decided to start another on fm09 and it seems just as fun, though since i had quite some experience with fm09 already, i did get some cheap really hot talents!

I sold Rommedahl for 6 milion euros to Hoffenhaim, and bought these players:

David is the defender i bought for 20 milion after a few years with Colchester!

Soares becoems a top brazilian striker soon, just like Keirrison who this forum is very familiar with.

Cabral seemed like a great defender with a lot of potention, just like Edinho who i had in my Napoli's demo game, and he is impressive.

Lewandowski, he is simply the best goal-scorer in this game!

And finaly, that guy Smits was recommended to me by my scouts and i was impressed with him, only 16 and a lot of potential!

I expect these new players to be worth a combined 200 milion in no longer than 2 years.

Diakite, Vasiev and Franchini were players i was really happy with in my Colchester game, so i decided i want them again, at a much reduced price too.

Hey guys, i need help with formation, would anyone please show me their tactics and what works for Ajax, i keep getitng inconsistent results with a 442 formation. thanks

I am using this tactic in my 1st season: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=72995

Results so far in a multiplayer game:

Cruising

Tough games vs AZ and NEC. Versus NEC I played 72 mins with 10 men.

Home against Benfica I had bad luck.

has rodney sneijder made any progress from people that are a few seasons in?

thanks a lot YASPO, much appreciated, i've tried it and its quite solid, im actually getting good results. thanks

While i may be running away with the title with at least a 10-15 point advantage most of the time(courtesy of goals by Keirrison and Lewandowski), Huntelaar has been terribly failing, he is worse than Quaresma and Shevchenko together this year, just can't get a higher rating than 5.5!

Are there special instructions i should be giving him or is it just a matter of luck for me? How have any of you guys made him to play well?

Is it possible to change the Amsterdam ArenA pitch size? I'm in 2013/14 and was never asked to change the pitch size.

Also, the board refuses to upgrade traning facilities with the excuse that the facilities are among the best in the league. I've won the league 5 times and made it to the CL semi-finals twice, my balance is around Ł45M and still they refuse. :'(

They agreed to improve my Training Facilities in first season.

As with everyone else in this thread, I have started a game with Ajax. Currently I am just past the January transfer window of my second season, and I feel I have done a pretty good job with Ajax. I am not currently at the computer I have the game on, so I may miss some $ values, but the players brought in should be correct.

My first season, my big worry was the loss of Huntelaar in January. Wanting to find a Dutch replacement, I paid Celtic 2.1 million pounds for Jan Veneegoor of Hesselink. He is slow (9 pace), but his mental and technical attributes are very nice. After Hunter left, he did very well in his stead, scoring 19 in all competitions (most of those came after January).

Like others have mentioned, I also wanted to strengthen my backline. I found Davide Santon from Inter to be a great buy, and got him for 1.7 mil + clauses. He was incredible the first year, and actually ended up playing AMR most of the season.

I bought a number of youngsters for the youth ranks, but didn't really have too much money to spend the first season and I liked the bulk of my squad. I brought in Antonio Floro Flores from Udinese (I think) but he was useless. My main backup striker ended up being Madme Niang who I paid 40k to Wolfsburg for.

Results for the first season were good. I went undefeated at home and only drew once. Away, I lost 3 times, and had far too many draws, but still won the Eredivise title. I beat Villareal in the UEFA Cup knockout stages, but lost to Valencia in the second knockout round 4-3 (beat them at the Mestella though).

The offseason was a fantastic boon for Ajax though. I had agreed a fee of 1.8 mil during the spring for Marco Boriello, who was out of favour at AC Milan. So far he has scored 18 goals in 19 league games, including hitting four twice.

I was able to take advantage of Bayern Munich's weakend financial state and signed the wonderkid Breno for 3.2 million. So far he has scored 10 goals and is the top rated player in the Eredivise.

I also signed Claudio Marchiso for 700k from Juventus as he was unhappy with his playing time and looking for regular action. So far, he has been very good from midfield, partnering Enoh in my 4-2-3-1 formation and offering an attacking threat and incisive passing.

Finally, I signed Christian Gimenez on loan from Atletico Madrid. Suarez and Santon are my first choice wingers, but both were injured early in the season so depth was need. Cviatnich and Sulejmani are good for the Eredivise, but I wanted something more for a European challenge. So far, he has been incredible, with great pace and great crossing, I wish I had the money to bring him in permanently.

I also signed some youngsters with 5-6-7 star potential, like a great keeper from Metz, a couple defenders from Germany and a fantastic young Czech right back (Jan Pribyl) who rated out at 7.3 in his debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a Champions League match.

Players leaving off the top of my head - Olegur, Lindgren, Rommedahl, Leonardo, van der Wiehl, Gabri, Sno. Those are the big ones who got a lot of playing time my first season. Sold a couple other high wage/low play players (can't wait until Luque comes off the books )

Currently, I am 5 points clear in the Eredivise in year 2. I finished second behind Man U in my Champions League group, ahead of Beskitas and CSKA Moscow. Unfortunately, I drew Barcelona in the First Knockout Round, so we will see how that goes. I am the top scoring team in the league by a mile, and also the most defensively solid. In my last two games, I smacked down the second (AZ, 4-0 win) and third (PSV 3-1 win) placed teams convincingly. So far have only lost once and drawn 3.

Marten Sketelenburg was Dutch Keeper of the Year both years.

Current first choice lineup

GK - Stekelenburg

DL - Goosens/Emmanuelson (it switches back and forth, but Goosens FK ability and very good performances have had him here lately, for big games, Vermaelan sometimes moves here with Vertonghen in the centre)

DC - Vermaelan

DC - Breno

DR - Bruno Silva (as Gimenez has been playing so good, I have started playing Santon here for his pace and attacking threat too)

MC - Claudio Marchiso

MC - Eyong Enoh

AML - Luis Suarez

AMC - Ismael Aissati

AMR - Christian Gimeniz/Davide Santon

ST - Marco Boriello (Hesselink is the backup, but I just signed someone on a free from Rennes I think, as he is getting on in years)